I. Field of the Invention
The present invention generally relates to billing methods and systems, including electronic billing methods and systems implemented through computer hardware and software. More particularly, the invention relates to systems, methods and articles of manufacture for determining payers of cost events and for presenting invoices to such payers by, for example, electronic presentment or other means.
II. Background and Material Information
In the marketplace, service providers, merchants and other entities supply services and goods to customers. Such services and goods are typically offered in exchange for a predetermined monetary value or payment amount. In exchange for delivering the services or goods to a customer, service providers and merchants (collectively “billers”) will request payment by issuing an invoice to a customer. As used herein, the term “customer” broadly refers to any person, business, institution, agency or other entity that receives services or goods from a biller. Further, the term “biller” is not limited to service providers and merchants, but broadly refers to any person, business, vendor, institution, agency or other entity that is capable of providing services or goods, including for example, individuals, small and medium-size companies (SMEs), financial institutions including banks and credit agencies, universities, colleges, schools, government agencies, utilities, wholesalers, retailers, etc.
Invoices may be issued to customers using various techniques, such as mailing a printed invoice or statement to a customer based on, for example, the customer's mailing or billing address. In recent years, other methods have become widely available, such as electronic presentment. With electronic presentment, an invoice from a biller is electronically presented to the customer. This may be achieved by, for example, an e-mail communication, a remote dial-up connection, or a web site on the Internet. Also known are electronic bill presentment and payment (EBPP) systems, which electronically present invoices and permit customers to electronically pay such invoices through one or more payment processing services or features.
Various types of EBPP systems are known. In one type of EBPP, the biller directly generates electronic invoices and electronically presents the same to its customers. Direct EBPPs may be implemented through, for example, an Internet web site that is maintained by or for the biller. In such systems, customers of the biller may log onto the web site (e.g., by entering a username and password, etc.) to review and pay invoices on-line.
Another type of EBPP is a consolidated EBPP. Typically operated by a “biller consolidator,” such as a bank or bill service agency, these systems permit customers to access and view electronic invoices from several billers. In a consolidated EBPP, a secure bill presentment site on the Internet, or other type of network, may be provided to allow each customer to review and pay invoices from a plurality of billers. Customers may be charged for services rendered by the biller consolidator. Further, the biller consolidator may charge each biller for the service, but such costs are usually less than a self-maintained site and thus beneficial to billers. Consolidated EBPPs are also attractive to customers, even if they involve service charges, because consolidated EBPPs provide a single site through which invoices from several different billers may be reviewed and paid by a customer.
Often, a number of participants may be involved in rendering services or goods to a customer. For example, a service provider or merchant may engage one or more partners to provide a particular service or good for a customer. In some cases, the customer may not be aware of all of the participants involved in providing the final services or goods, such as where the customer only has a direct contractual relationship with the main service provider or merchant. Further, it is possible that the main service provider or merchant is not totally aware of all participants, particularly where a business partner or other participant has engaged a third party to provide assistance in its operations or where the other participant has no direct contractual relationship with the main service provider or merchant. Moreover, even where some or all of the participants are known, the number of participants and/or the relationships between the participants can cause confusion and/or uncertainty as to which entities are responsible for costs incurred in rendering particular services or goods.
Such billing environments create challenges for most conventional billing methods and systems. For example, conventional methods and systems are not capable of flexibly determining payers for billable events, such as where the responsible payer is a participant other than the customer or where multiple participants are involved in rendering the services or goods and there is difficulty in identifying the responsible payer. Further, existing EBPPs are not capable of effectively processing billable events where the participant(s) may not have a direct contractual relationship with the customer or the main service provider or merchant.
In view of the foregoing, there is a need for improved systems, methods and articles of manufacture for determining payers in billing environments, including complex billing environments. There is also a need for improved billing methods and systems for flexibly determining payers for billable events based on one or more factors, such as the type of services or goods provided and/or the participants involved. Moreover, there is a need for improved billing methods and systems for determining payers in billing environments and presenting invoices to such payers by, for example, electronic presentment or other means.